Of Mines and Dragons
by Nelioe
Summary: Fíli wants to go playing in an old, closed mine and drags Kíli along. Something was bound to go wrong.


**I wrote this story for the Summer Fandom Raffle Exchange on Tumblr for prompt 6: Dwarfling Fili and Kili, little Kili has an accident, falls down, hurts himself, etc and big brother Fili makes him feel better. Maybe with a bandage and a story**

 **Just a short little dwarfling story with Fíli and Kíli being adorable and a bit of Hurt/Comfort.**

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Fíli gave his little brother a sign with his hand, before both brothers darted crouched through the dark hallways of an old mine that had long been closed. Only a sparse light illuminated their path, sunlight transported into the mountain with the help of a big crystal, pooling the rays and allowing the dwarves to feel the difference between day and night even under the mountain. Some parts of the Ered Luin were still darker than others, but they were dwarves, born to live here, with eyes that adjusted easily to the dark.

"Are you sure the dragon lives here?" Kíli asked when they reached one of the great halls where rails and a lonely wagon could be spotted. The brunet gnawed at his bottom lip, obviously fearing the consequences should someone notice their presence here.

It was prohibited for dwarflings to come into this area and since Kíli had quite a record of broken rules he'd gotten a bit more careful after Thorin had told him he would take his bow away if the young dwarf did something forbidden again. Fíli, on the other hand, didn't really care about it. He'd always wanted to play down here since he'd gotten the first look at the tunnels, he wasn't getting that often into trouble as Kíli as well and so he ignored the worry of his little brother. They wouldn't get caught, Fíli had planned everything perfectly!

"Of course I'm sure, I have seen it," the blond fibbed. In his opinion it was still hilarious that Kíli believed all the stupid stories he told him. During the last summer he'd told him an elvish witch was living in a sea near the Blue Mountains, eating dwarflings of his age, because Fíli didn't want his little brother to follow him and his friends when they went swimming. Kíli had been so scared it was a scream.

Leading the younger into one of the tunnels to their right they made their way through the tight passageway, just wide enough for a wagon that once had to be filled with gemstones. Fíli had never seen a mine before and the quick glance he'd already caught at this place didn't count, so now his gaze was roaming over the walls and to the ceiling. Even the mines that hadn't been closed were off-limits for him, too dangerous, uncle Thorin liked to say.

The tunnel, however, wasn't leading them very far before they reached an old ladder, rungs disappearing into the darkness of the belly of the mountain. Fíli whistled impressed. He couldn't see the ground so he assumed it had to be a long way down. Meanwhile Kíli was supporting himself with pressing his hands to his thighs, body bent as he stared into the impenetrably darkness.

Fíli was still musing if they should take the risk and climb down, when suddenly the ground beneath Kíli's feet crumbled. There was no warning, no crunching sound nor a tremor in the stone. One moment his brother stood beside him and in the next he fell with a screech.

At first the blond's mind didn't want to work, he just stood there, staring into the darkness while feeling his heartbeat hasting until he thought it was going to shatter his chest. Feeling hot his sticky hands grasped the hem of his tunic in a vicelike grip. He'd killed his little brother… he'd… he was just standing there and now… his little brother… that hadn't wanted to come here in the first place… only lured by Fíli's promise to see a real dragon… a dragon the older had made up… Kíli… his Kíli was…

Just when he thought he was going to throw up with guilt and fear a soft whimper reached his ear.

Falling to his knees Fíli looked over the edge, he was unable to see anything through the thick darkness, though.

"Kíli?" He called softly, voice trembling with hope and fright. Tears blurred his vision and the world seemed to go fuzzy as he sniffed.

"Oooouch…," the long whine drifted up to him, followed by quiet sobs.

A wave of relief washed over Fíli. Kíli was alive. He hadn't killed his brother! His knees shook as the tension drained from his body, leaving him weak like a new-born kid.

"Kíli! Are you all right?" Fíli called into the blackness.

"No!" Came the prompt reply, distorted by crying.

This one word spurred Fíli into action, he climbed the ladder down, discovering with surprise that it were only a few rungs until he reached the ground again, the missing light making this part of the mine appear deeper than it was through the darkness. Kíli huddled beside the ladder, sobbing miserably. Fíli crouched down at his side, unsure if he should touch the younger, perhaps he was hurt and he was only going to make it worse that way?

"Are you hurt?"

"Yeah," he croaked.

"Where are you hurt?"

"My-my knees hurt and-and my-my hands," he replied, speech disrupted by sobs. "Will-will I get into trouble now?" A sniff in the darkness before the crying continued.

"No! Of course not!" Fíli promised him. "We will just go home and say it happened while playing inside, all right? You won't miss out on your bow."

And so Fíli coaxed him up the ladder and through the tunnels of the mine, all the while the brunet was wiping his tears off with the sleeve of his tunic, crying heartbreakingly. He felt so guilty. Normally he didn't really care if Kíli cried, he cried much too often anyway and over stupid things, if any he was only worried if it would get him into trouble when his mother or uncle thought he'd caused it or not taken enough care of his little brother. This time, however, he was responsible. He was the one urging Kíli to go into the closed mine with him, although he knew it was forbidden and probably for a reason so. And now the brunet was hurt and there were still fat tears dripping down his cheeks and he looked so miserable with his bloodshot eyes and the puffy cheeks. And if they were now discovered and Kíli would lose his bow because of him… Fíli was sure he would never forgive himself.

Therefore he was really careful with getting them out of the mine without anyone noticing. He managed to bring the other home safely; the few dwarves they met hadn't seen where they came from and paid them no mind. When he sat his little brother down to clean the bloody scrapes at his hands and knees with a wet cloth Kíli's sobbing had mostly subsided, although he was still looking like a bundle of misery, hiccupping then and again.

They changed the brunet's torn cloths against recently laundered with Fíli telling him afterwards to wash his face. Despite not appearing as wrecked as on their way home he seemed no less unhappy.

"See, as good as new," Fíli said, trying to keep his voice light after bandaging Kíli's hands and knees.

"Will the dragon now come out and eat us?" Kíli asked in a breathy voice, bottom lip already wobbling dangerously.

"What? Why?" Fíli wondered confused.

"Because that's what Smaug did, didn't he? He ate all those who stayed after he came to Erebor." With a cold wave of fear the blond saw his little brother's eyes shimmering moistly. This wasn't good. He'd just stopped crying and now his stupid story would start it all over again.

"You don't have to worry, there is no dragon here!" He confessed hurriedly.

Sniffing, Kíli shook his head. "You only say that now, because I'm scared. You were sure this morning!"

Now look what he'd caused! Damnit! He needed a way out. Quick!

"No, I mean, the dragon won't be there, because there is already a dragon slayer there to kill the dragon before it can hurt anyone."

Kíli sniffed again, blinking a few times so the tears disappeared from his eyes. "A dragon slayer?" He asked as if to make sure he hadn't misheard.

"Yeah! The best of them all! He is wielding twin swords and as never lost a fight! He will go deep into the belly of the mountain and kill the beast while it sleeps, because dragons need a lot of sleep before eating people!"

"And… and… does the hero have a brother?" Kíli looked at him hopefully.

"Oh, you are right! How could I forget his brave little brother! He is the greatest archer in the whole world and while his older brother distracts the dragon he is going to shoot it when it drops its guard."

"But… but this can't be easy."

"No, it isn't. Now, sit back and I will tell you the great story of the greatest heroes!"


End file.
